Italian car market: ten consecutive months of growth, with Stellantis leading the way
New car registrations up 9.9 per cent in September – Within the Stellantis group, Fiat continues to grow, recording a rise in sales volumes of almost 30 per cent compared with 2025
It continues into September the recovery phase of the Italian car market, with 139,356 registrations, according to Anfia, representing a 9.9%1 increase compared with September 2025. In the first nine months of 2026, total volumes stood at 1,268,964 units, representing an 8.7 per cent increase compared with the same period in 2025.
Despite rising sales volumes, however, the market share of electric cars has fallen to 7.6 per cent for the month and 7.1 per cent for the first nine months of the year. In this market context, Chinese-made cars account for 15.1 per cent. The September result, according to the Promotor Research Centre, brings the number of consecutive monthly increases to ten.
Compared with pre-pandemic figures, however, the gap is narrowing: in September, new car registrations were 2.2 per cent lower than in the same month of 2019, whilst for the January–September period as a whole, the shortfall stands at 13.6 per cent. Based on the trend over the first nine months, the Promotor Research Centre estimates a total of 1,618,671 registrations for the whole of 2026, up 6.1 per cent on 2025 but down 15.6 per cent on 2019 levels.
Among car manufacturers, Stellantis – excluding Leapmotor – saw sales rise by 7.5 per cent during the month, and by 12.6 per cent when the Chinese manufacturer’s volumes are also taken into account; these are distributed in Europe by the group led by Antonio Filosa. Fiat, in particular, continues its upward trend, posting – for the month and year to date – a result almost 30 per cent higher than in 2025.
In the rankings of the best-selling cars of the month, the Fiat Pandina holds a firm lead, with 10,401 registrations and a 7.5 per cent share of the total market. The top 10 also includes four other Stellantis models: the Jeep Avenger, the Peugeot 3008, the Fiat Grande Panda and the Citroën C3. “These results,” emphasised Antonella Bruno, Managing Director of Stellantis Italia, “reaffirm the strength of our brands.”
